Hearing aid apparatus



June 27, 1967 c. D. MULLIN 3,327,807

HEAR ING AID APPARATUS Filed Dec. 15, 1966 NE 2 Y INVENTOR.

6240 70 0. All/4.4 M/ B Y United States Patent 3,327,807 HEARING AIDAPPARATUS Clayton D. Mullin, St. Paul, Minn, assignor to Textron, Inc.,Providence, R.I., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed Dec. 13, 1966,Ser. No. 601,509 Claims. (Cl. 18123) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Thisdisclosure is directed to an accessory used with a behind-the-ear typehearing aid to hold the hearing aid in position when used by children. Ahead-band is used with a special connector having an arm or bracketformed therewith which is pivotally attached to the headband and allowsthe hearing aid to be positioned at the proper position for either earof the child.

Fitting children with hearing aids usually presents a problem in itselfaside from the fact that most hearing aids are designed primarily foruse by adult persons and thus are relatively large for use withchildren. Furthermore, because hearing aids are precision instruments,allowing them to be dropped or played with by children usually leads toundesirable results. Since a -behind-the-ear type hearing aid lendsitself to the most unencumbered connection with the car, it has beenfound that this type of hearing aid is less cumbersome to the wearerthan the spectacle type hearing aids or the body worn hearing aids.Since it is desirable to locate the acoustic tube from the hearing aidto the ear mold or ear canal at an optimum position, it is desirable tosecure the behind-the-ear hearing aid along side the head of the wearerso that the aid will remain in place regardless of the activities of itsyoung wearer.

The present invention makes use of a special connector between the spoutof the hearing aid and a head-band so that the spigot of the connectormay be properly located with respect to the ear. The hearing aid housingis then rotatable about the spout so that it will lie flush against thehead of the wearer.

It is therefore a general object to provide an improved hearing aid.accessory to be used in combination with a behind-the-ear hearing aid.

It is another object of this invention to provide a mechanism forholding a behind-the-ear type hearing aid in a proper position for useby children.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a mechanism forholding a behind-the-ear type hearing aid which is constructed andarranged to be used with either ear of the wearer.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description, made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention as constructed for use incooperation with the right ear of the wearer;

FIG. 2 is a view of the invention in use on the head of a wearer;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of the end of the headband portion of theinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the .arm or bracket extension of theacoustic connector.

As found in FIG. 1, a behind-the-ear type hearing aid 19 is found whichcontains all of the normal hearing aid components. One behind-the-eartype hearing aid which has proven to have worked well with the inventiondisclosed herein, is the Maico Electronics, Inc., behind-the-ear typehearing aid, Model BL designated the Galaxy II.

3,327,807 Patented June 27, 1 967 Hearing aid 10 is fitted with a metalspout 11 which projects from the upper portion of the hearing aidhousing and has a ferrule 12 formed around the spout near the endthereof. Spout 11 is connected to an acoustic connector 13 which is inthe form of a curved spigot 14 which curves downwardly and terminates ata position which is above and forward of the ear canal. Connector 13 andspigot 14 have an unrestricted passage which is cylindrical in natureextending the length of the connector and spigot. The end of the passagecommunicates with spout 11 and in fact, is shaped at the end with anannular recess to provide a snap-on fitting in the normal manner. Formedwith connector 13, is an arm or upwardly extending bracket member 15.The connector and the bracket or arm member are generally molded ofpolyethylene or some other semirigid plastic.

As shown in more detail in FIG. 4, an arcuate slot 16 is formed near theupper edge of member 15 and a hole 17 is formed below slot 16 but abovethat portion of connector 13 communicating with spout 11.

A headband member 20 is formed of a flexible metal and has a pair ofholes 21 and 22 formed therein which contain a pair of sleeves 23 and 24respectively. Sleeve 24 communicates with hole 17 and sleeve 23communicate with slot 16. Each of sleeves 23 and 24 has internal screwthreads 25 and 26 respectively formed therein. Sleeves 23 and 24 have ashank end which is fitted in the holes and is peencd or riveted on theback side (the side which lies adjacent the head) to secure the sleevesin the hole. A pair of screws 27 and 28 are threadedly engaged withthreads 25 and 26 and have a pair of washers 29 secured under the headsof the screws so that member 15 may be secured against movement toheadband mem-- ber 20. Another headband member 30 communicates with band20 in a sliding arrangement and is held in place in cooperation withmember 20 through the use of a polyethylene sleeve or tubing 31. Apressure pad 32 is secured to the end of member 30 to relieve thepressure at the end of the curved band 30 when the headband is securedover the head of the wearer such as found in FIG. 2.

By making member 15 and connector 13 and spigot 14 symmetrical about acenter line running through the curved acoustic passage, it is possibleto reverse the connection of the connector with band 20 and thus providea device which may be used with either the left or right ear.

When the headband is placed on the head of the wearer, it will beobserved that the end of spigot 14 may be moved rotationally about thepivot formed through the use of sleeve 24 and hole 17 upon looseningscrews 27 and 28 and then tightening the screws upon locating spigot 14in the best position possible. Hearing aid 10 may then be rotated withrespect to the passage in connector 13 so that the hearing aid liesflush against the head and behind the ear of the wearer.

It should also be observed that pressure pad 32 may be removed andanother pair of sleeves added to band 30 through a pair of holes formedat the end thereof where an additional connector may be secured andanother hearing aid connected thereto to provide a binaural hearing aidfor the wearer and still make use of the invention as set forth herein.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention which consists of the mattershown and described herein and set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hearing aid accessory worn in combination with a behind-the-eartype hearing aid having an acoustic spout connected to a receiver andextending through the case thereof wherein the improvement comprises:

(a) a headband formed of resilient material having an end portion with apivot member secured thereto; (b) an acoustic connector constructed andarranged to engage the spout of said hearing-aid having a spigotextending downwardly and away from said spout while communicatingtherewith, said connector having an arm formed therewith extendingupwardly and communicating with said pivot member of said headband;

(c) and a releasable holding device securing said arm to said headbandand permitting rotational movement therebetween about said pivot memberto locate the end of said spigot in close proximity to the ear canal ofthe hearing-aid wearer.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 including:

(d) a slot operatively connected with said releasable holding device and.formed in said arm of said connector and disposed in spacedrelationship from said spigot and said pivot member and extendingtransversely to the direction of said arm extension permitting limitedmovement of said connector.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2 including:

(e) a pair of holes formed in at least one end of said headband anddisposed longitudinally from each other along said headband;

(f) screw threads formed in at least the hole disposed furthest from theend of said headband;

(g) and at least one threaded member cooperating with said screw threadsand said slot formed in said arm permitting limited movement of saidspigot.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3 including:

(h) a bore formed in said arm between said slot and said spigot;

(i) and a pair of sleeve members having said screw threads formedinternally thereof and having a shank portion secured in said pair ofholes in said headband, said sleeve members communicating with said slotand said bore to form said pivot member.

5. The invention as set fo-rth in claim 1 wherein said acousticconnector is formed symmetrically about a plane passing through thecenter line of said curved spigot permitting reversal of said acousticconnector with respect to said headband.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,179,615 11/1939 Craig 179-1072,535,269 12/1950 Coie '179-156 2,882,348 4/1959 Erickson 179-1073,091,670 5/1963 Hall 179156 STEPHEN J. TOMSKY, Primary Examiner.

1. A HEARING AID ACCESSORY WORN IN COMBINATION WITH A BEHIND-THE-EARTYPE HEARING AID HAVING AN ACOUSTIC SPOUT CONNECTED TO A RECEIVER ANDEXTENDING THROUGH THE CASE THEREOF WHEREIN THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISES:(A) A HEADBAND FORMED OF RESILIENT MATERIAL HAVING AN END PORTION WITH APIVOT MEMBER SECURED THERETO; (B) AN ACOUSTIC CONNECTOR CONSTRUCTED ANDARRANGED TO ENGAGE THE SPOUT OF SAID HEARING-AID HAVING A SPIGOTEXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND AWAY FROM SAID SPOUT WHILE COMMUNICATINGTHEREWITH, SAID CONNECTOR HAVING AN ARM FORMED THEREWITH EXTENDINGUPWARDLY AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID PIVOT MEMBER OF SAID HEADBAND; (C)AND A RELEASABLE HOLDING DEVICE SECURING SAID ARM TO SAID HEADBAND ANDPERMITTING ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT THEREBETWEEN ABOUT SAID PIVOT MEMBER TOLOCATE THE END OF SAID SPIGOT IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE EAR CANAL OF THEHEARING-AID WEARER.